NAGARJUNA -TABU AND I ARE `JUST FRIENDS'

Talking about Tabu is taboo with Nagarjuna. Don't stretch your luck too far, industrywallahs gave me unsolicited advice. Nevertheless, with a brave heart and a prayer on my lips, I came face to face to ask the star what everyone in the film industry was gossiping about - What's happening between him and Tabu? The reaction was predictable. Well, I was warned.

Nagarjuna's face was full of fury. He stares at me like I've never been stared at before. If he had the freedom, he sure would have hit me hard. He probably would have given vent to his feelings the way he wanted to if it was a film, but this was real life. "The next time you write any nonsense about me, I will sue you," he thundered. I allow Nagarjuna to have his say. The man is upset about being written in a negative way. For the next few minutes, words fly like bullets. And then, the anger vanishes and he cools down.

I repeat the question very politely. "It is said Tabu and Sajid have split because of you..." "Go ahead, write whatever you want to. In any case, you will misinterpret what I say," he explodes. The man had to be won over. "The fact that I have come to talk to you about it means we would like to know the truth right from the horse's mouth and report it," I told him. However, after a while, we were at ease, and Nagarjuna gave me a straight answer.

"There's absolutely nothing brewing between Tabu and me. We have been good friends for the last 15 years. In 1996, I did Ninne Pelladutha and the following year we both acted in Aavida Ma Aavide. Since then, we've hardly met. But I am a friend to her just like I am a friend to any male," he said, opening his eyes wide for emphasis. He does not want to say anything more. But I persist. Why then is he linked to her? "Tabu is a star in Mumbai and the gossip magazines, for some reason, are after her. I fail to understand why they want to see more into our friendship. The very same gossip magazines linked her to Salman Khan as well as Ajay Jadeja. See the contradiction. I've got so disgusted with these magazines that I have stopped reading them," he explains.

He says he hasn't met Tabu for a year and has spoken to her just twice over the phone during that period. But didn't you go to the US to perform stage shows and wasn't Tabu a part of the troupe? Nagarjuna remembers. "I almost forgot about it. That was several months ago. So what if we were part of the troupe? Why can't you accept friendship between two individuals as just that instead of trying to read meanings?" the anger is back on his face.

The onus is on me to keep the conversation going. Otherwise the star may just call it off. Considering that he and Tabu are "just friends," I ask, as if out of academic interest, what he likes about Tabu. "She is a sensitive person," the reply is quick. For all the attention the "mere friendship" between them is drawing, Nagarjuna has actually ceased to bother about it. Wife Amala too is not disturbed. Apparently, they are good friends too. "In fact, Amala and Tabu are always in touch through e-mail," he says.

Nagarjuna offers more information, if only it could prove to those who care to listen that he is not guilty of breaking Tabu and Sajid's relationship. "I am happily married. And happy I will be, despite the rumours that circulate about me. However, I pity Tabu because the gossip magazines are out to ruin her," he says.

From Tabu we move over to discussing another sensitive topic - the recent flops in his career. For the first time Nagarjuna laughs and this sure is a relief. He tells me that it is not just in the recent past that he has had flops but that there have been several phases during his career when his films bombed at the box office. When the films from which he has great expectations unexpectedly flop, Nagarjuna is not unduly worried. He takes such flops in his stride. "Several minds come together to make a film. Sometimes we may just have gone wrong somewhere," he says. The biggest trial, however, comes when films which have been a hit in other languages, flop when made in Telugu. For instance, the film Chandralekha was a big hit in the original Malayalam but when Nagarjuna made it in Telugu, with himself in the lead role, the film disappeared from the theatres within no time.

"I have decided never to do a remake of a Malayalam film. A remake of a Tamil film may draw crowds but a Malayalam film is a different ball-game altogether," Nagarjuna, the producer, says rather firmly.

A different facet of Nagarjuna was noticed when a couple of years ago, he produced a film introducing two new heroes in Sri Seetharamulakalyanam Choothamurarandi. "It never struck me that I was introducing heroes who could be a competition to me. It is just that the script demanded two young heroes and I cast them," he says matter-of-factly.

That Nagarjuna also takes risks became amply evident when the hero with a lover-boy image donned the role of Annamayya. "I was anyway giving flops. So, what if this flopped too. At least I was daring to be different," he guffaws. Professional he is, on the sets, but Nagarjuna does not think that it's necessary to 'upgrade his acting skills.' "It's not necessary. I act my part in front of the camera and that is it," he explains. And when it is pack-up, the man says he rushes back home. "Home is where my heart is. After the birth of my child Akhil, I have restricted myself to working only one shift. I do not even work on Sundays." Initially, it may have caused a bit of inconvenience to his producers but not anymore. They plan their schedules accordingly, taking into consideration that Nagarjuna does not 'over work'. "It's not worth working for several hours. Life is short. One has to live for oneself too," he adds.

That's why Nagarjuna says he spends a lot of time at home. He's either browsing the Net for information on the latest gadgets available or simply fixing something in the house. Also, he enjoys cooking. "I cook tasty food," he boasts. I intervene to say that it is not he who has to certify about his cooking. "Then you can ask my wife. The fact that she looks forward to eating what I prepare means that she likes my cooking," he says with a broad smile and we part as friends.

Susheel Rao, INDIA SYNDICATE

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